In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Allah has equipped us with human soul which has the capacity to distinguish between good and bad, and right and wrong. In other words, in our make-up, Allah has built in us a special ability to choose freely the righteous path or the sinful path. Man is not a creature of pure force or coercion. We have the free will to choose our path of good or evil. We have the option to do good or refrain from sin. The choice is ours, for which we are rewarded or punished.
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا ﴿٧﴾ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا ﴿٨[Qur'an Ash-Shams 91:7-8]
And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it (7) And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, (8)
Whenever the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam recited these verses [91:7-8], he would stop and recite the following supplication aloud:
اللهم آت نفسي تقواها أنت وليها ومولاها وأنت خير من زكاها
0 Allah! Give my soul its good. You are its Guardian and Master, and the best to purify it.
Mankind is divided into two groups: 1) successful and 2) unsuccessful. The successful ones are those who constantly purifies themselves. Those who rejected the message of Allah belong to second group. Such a group will receive severe punishment in the Hereafter. Sometimes, however, an installment of punishment is meted out to them in this world as in the case of Thamud.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا ﴿٩﴾ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا ﴿١٠[Qur'an Ash-Shams 91:9-10]
He has succeeded who purifies it, (9) And he has failed who instills it [with corruption]. (10)
Some practical tips on purification of the heart:
Sincere Repentance
Sins are barriers which restrict the opportunity to do good and righteous works; so begin your journey with sincere repentance.
إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢ ...[Qur'an, Al-baqarah 2:222]
... Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves." (222)
Establish Daily Routines (Awrad)
Just like our physical muscles, our spiritual muscles need to undergo regular training in order to be strengthened.
Imam Al-Ghazali exhorts on the importance of routines, “Your time should not be without structure, such that you occupy yourself arbitrarily with whatever comes along. Rather, you must take account of yourself and order your worship during the day and the night, assigning to each period of time an activity that must not be neglected nor replaced by another activity. By the ordering of this time, the blessing will show in itself.”
Allah has provided us with a daily routine and we must perform them, without excuse or neglect.
a) The Obligatory Prayers
Most of us struggle to keep up with our obligatory prayers on time. You have to take whatever means to get them in place and in place properly. Those already doing this should work on offering the voluntary prayers (Al Sunnah Rawatib) and supererogatory prayers (dhuha, tahajjud, 6 rak'aat after sunset prayer, salat al-wudu', etc).
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, "Allah will build a house in Heaven for whoever is diligent in observing 12 Sunnah Rak'aat (as follows): 4 Rak'aat before and 2 after the Dhuhr (Midday) Prayer, 2 after the Maghrib (Sunset Prayer), 2 after the ‘Isha’ (Evening) Prayer and 2 before the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer." [at-Tirmidhi]
Sound actions emanate from sound states. If you are struggling to keep up with the prayers, look at the spiritual causes that might be hindering your access to this blessing. Are your constantly engaged in sins for which you feel no guilt or remorse? What type of people are you surrounded by? Do you sleep in a state of ritual purity to facilitate waking up for Fajr? Are the intentions behind your acts sincere?
You have to constantly re evaluate and renew your intentions. The moment you start noticing your sincerity, you've become insincere. The moment you get upset because people don't appreciate you, you've become insincere.
b) Have a daily reading of the Qur'an
Pick an amount that you can commit to reading from the Qur'an everyday. Make it a routine to read that amount after one of the obligatory prayers — after Fajr is usually the best time to do so.
c) Daily Supplications (Dhikr) for Morning and Evenings
Having a regular wird (a designated amount) of dhikr is also necessary in one's daily routine. The Prophet ṣallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam recommended supplications for mornings and evenings. Set aside a time, usually after Fajr and Maghrib, to recite them.
d) Sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet salallahu alayhi wassallam (salawat)
In your daily supplications be sure to include a routine of salawat. We should aim to do this throughout our day, but including it in our daily routine inculcates the practice. One way to do this is to establish the habit of saying ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam whenever he is mentioned.
Make an effort to, “Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.”
Control Your Diet
Imam Al-Ghazali considered the stomach and genitals to be the dominators of our desires; if they are in control; all other limbs are kept in check. Controlling our diet is especially needed, given that we live in a society where obesity is a serious problem and we don't think twice about eating to satiety.
Imam Al-Haddad succinctly summarize the moderation we need to bring to our diets: Do not make good and pleasurable food your prime concern. Beware of eating excessively and frequently eating to satiety, for even if it be from halal foods it will still be the beginning of many evils. It results in hardening of the heart, loss of perspicacity, confused thinking, laziness in worship, and other things. The way to be moderate is to stop eating while still desiring to eat, and not to start eating until you really want food. The sign that yours is a real desire is that you desire any kind of food.
Make Du'a' and Avoid Sins
Practical measures outlined above need to be coupled with supplication asking Allah to grant you a pure heart. In addition, while sins are inevitable, an active effort needs to be made to avoid sins we commit consistently. As mentioned earlier, sins are barriers that limit the opportunity to do good and righteous works; avoiding them and constantly seeking forgiveness is therefore vital.
May Allah purify our hearts, make us of those who remember Allah much and save us from the Hellfire. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
No comments:
Post a Comment